During the planning process for the bond issue, which started in 2018, several options were considered other than the current master plan, school administrators said. However, the current ballot issue is the one that is least likely to result in the district coming back to the ballot box for facilities money anytime soon.
“This is not a band-aid,” said Tyler Alexander, director of business services for Beavercreek schools. “This is a plan that puts the district in a great spot for many, many years moving forward.”
Additionally, the district does not anticipate needing a new operating levy once this project is completed, officials said Tuesday, in part because staff that currently teach in portable trailers will simply move to actual brick-and-mortar classrooms.
“Every student that’s in our trailers already has a teacher,” said Beavercreek City Schools Treasurer Joy Kitzmiller.
District officials said there are two existing operating levies that will need to be renewed at the same tax rate — one an emergency levy originally approved in 2011 that expires in 2026, and a substitute levy that expires in 2028. Combined these two levies make up 25% of the district’s funding, Beavercreek schools Superintendent Paul Otten said.
“If (the bond issue) does not pass, we will not run this again in this capacity, because we have to focus on the operating levy,” Otten said, adding that the operating levies are the “lifeblood” of the district’s programming.
The master plan allows for a capacity of more than 10,000 students, school officials said at a Tuesday open house, which offers a buffer to the district’s projected growth at 9,200 students.
The lion’s share of the bond issue project — about $225 million of the $265 million total — would go toward constructing a new high school at an 89-acre property on the southeast corner of South Alpha Bellbrook Road and Indian Ripple Road.
The site of the new high school is in Beavercreek Twp., about a half-mile west of The Narrows Reserve.
While construction of a new high school would be the headline of the project, the remaining money would be divided between three new elementary school gyms at $15 million, $20 million of miscellaneous reprogramming improvements, and $5 million in capital improvements, including accessibility and security upgrades.
If voters approve, it would cause a domino effect of changes: The current high school would then be renovated into a middle school for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students. Ferguson Hall would be used for alternative programming, including working with the Greene County Career Center. Coy Middle School and Ankeney Middle School would both be converted to elementary schools.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
The oldest elementary school, Main Elementary, would be renovated into central offices for the district. The district’s current administrative offices have been moved out of the Kemp Road campus, into a leased space at Apple Valley Office Park, and the former central office have been converted into seven preschool classrooms, a multi-purpose room, and preschool administration to fit the growing demand for preschool in the district.
New construction would address anticipated growth over the next 25 to 35 years, Otten previously told the Dayton Daily News, as housing subdivisions continue to be built in and around Beavercreek.
In addition to the school building itself, the new high school campus would have a 1,200-seat theater, and a roughly 5,500-seat stadium. Plans for the new high school also include a 1,000-seat soccer stadium, practice fields for sports and marching band, and 1,400 parking spaces.
Resident discussion at an event Tuesday evening largely centered on the $265 million price tag of the entire plan, and residents’ ability to afford the new tax.
“How many students are getting their meals provided by Feed the Creek?” asked resident Bob Trout, referring to a local charity that provides meals to families in need, including through Beavercreek schools. “Is the school prepared to have more, if the bond issue passes? Because there’s a lot of people that are pushing their limits on being able to stay above water right now. I have concerns for that.”
Others questioned the need for new athletic facilities. While they account for the most real estate, Otten said, stripping out the fields and stadium would only account for a small portion of the construction cost, as about $180 million is budgeted for the actual school, and $35 million is budgeted for all outdoor amenities, which include the fields and stadium.
If the bond issue is approved by voters, construction on the high school would begin in 2026, and the new high school would open in 2029.
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